Web-Based Applications Page
'-Web-Based Applications' *Commercial Applications 1. Seesaw - https://web.seesaw.me/ Seesaw is a resource for teachers, parents and students. It is like a digital folder for students, where they can take pictures, create videos or post pictures of work completed in the classroom. They can then comment on the work that they have done by recording a message explaining the content. They can also use online highlighting tools to further explain. Teachers can create their own Seesaw lessons, or use the resources available to them through the application. Student work is shared with parents, allowing parents insight into what is being done in the classroom. Teachers, parents and students can all leave comments on what is being shown. It can be incorporated into any subject area. It encourages creativity and collaboration in the classroom and at home. When using Seesaw in the classroom make sure the students are saving their work, if they log off without saving it will be gone. It is easy for teachers to evaluate student work on Seesaw as they are able to give instant feedback. 2. Kahoot - https://kahoot.com/ Kahoot is a quiz generator that can be used by both teachers and students. Teachers can create quizzes and the students can answer the question from their personal devices. This allows teachers to see what each student has mastered, and what they need to work on. Students can also create their own quizzes. Kahoot can also be used for other activities, for example, teachers can create a Kahoot about classroom expectations, and have the students take the quiz on the first day of school. Or students can create a Kahoot about themselves to share with the teacher and peers. It also encourages collaboration if students are placed on teams for the Kahoot quiz. It can be incorporated into any subject area. It can be used both at home and at school. Evaluation with Kahoot is already built into the quizzes, showing if the students answered correctly or not. One drawback of Kahoot is that it in order to get more points, you must answer the question the fastest. This could encourage students to guess rather than taking the time to process the question and come up with the best answer. Overall, this is a fun and creative way to encourage studying and student learning. 3. Choiceworks - http://beevisual.com/ In a special needs classroom, routine is imperative to both teachers and students. This application is designed to help students with not only learning and accomplishing their daily routine, it helps them monitor their feelings throughout the process. It comes with a schedule board, feelings board, waiting board, feelings scale as well as a visual library to allow students to see pictures of common activities. It also comes with an audio clip for each picture. The different boards allow students to successfully complete daily tasks, gives tools and strategies for waiting patiently and not interrupting. It also helps the students express their emotions appropriately, and gives them a scale to rate the appropriateness of those emotions. This allows teachers and parents the tools to reflect with their students and have meaningful discussions about their day and both the successes and struggles that they had. One major drawback of Choiceworks is that is only available on IOS devices. There is no android platform for this app, which limits who can use it. *Freeware Applications 1. Google Classroom - https://classroom.google.com/ This free app is useful to both teachers and students. It is a great way for teachers to organize their class and assignments. Teachers can post assignments on the app, allowing students to begin working as soon as the access it. Teachers can also view and grade assignments on the app and provide instant feedback. Students in turn, can submit their work at school or from home. It is an easy way for teachers to follow students progress. They can monitor who is not turning in assignments, and communicate with them quickly. It also enables to teachers to send notifications when something has been added to the classroom, or when grades have been submitted. Allowing everyone to be up to date in an instant. Google classroom is easy to set up and use, it saves time, encourages collaboration and is easy to access from any device. One drawback to Google Classroom is that you have to have a separate account for classroom, which can be difficult if you use your existing Google account already. It also does not give the option to create evaluations (tests or quizzes). Some users have complained that the editing process can be troublesome. When the students become “owners” of the documents they can edit it any way that they want. Sometimes editing out important information. 2. ClassDojo – https://www.classdojo.com/ ClassDojo is an app designed for classroom communication, and is a great way to keep teachers, parents and students connected. Photos, videos and general announcements are shared on this app to keep parents updated and connected to what is going on in the classroom. It encourages team work among the students and helps to develop a positive classroom community. It also allows teachers and parents to communicate instantly and securely. Some disadvantages of ClassDojo is the tracking system. Student progress is accessible to others using the app, which can be deferential depending on the student. Some students thrive or are motivated by this, others can shut down or feel defeated by it. Some parents also object to personal information about their child being posted for someone else to view. There are also alternative apps on the market that some view as easier and better to use then ClassDojo. The graphics are also geared towards a younger audience, so it may not be appealing for upper elementary and beyond. 3.m yHomework - https://myhomeworkapp.com/ With my background in Special Education, I am always looking for tips, tools and tricks for organization. One of the main objectives in a Resource Room is keeping the students organized, the myHomework app is designed for this. It has a built- in calendar that allows students to monitor their homework, projects, tests and class news. It is easy to use, and you can also access your calendar through the website. If the teacher has an account the student can connect to the teacher and automatically have the information downloaded. If the teacher does not have an account, students have to manually enter their assignment information. If they are not diligent about it, they may miss important information and fall behind. While it is a great organizational tool, it is just that. There are no other supports in place for students who use it. They must be careful to use the app consistently. *Open-Source Web-Based Applications 1. Moodle - https://moodle.org/ Moodle is probably a word that you have heard before, it has been a tool in education technology for years. Basically, it is a webpage where schools, administrators or teachers can display different content. There are many different sections to a Moodle page, and can include numerous links and resources. For example, a school district may use a Moodle page with information general to the district, but would also include links to individual schools as well as resources for students and parents. A teacher may use a Moodle page for classroom news, assignments and upcoming projects. The page may also include links to suggested reading, educational games or parent resources. A major disadvantage of Moodle is that it can be difficult to set up if you don’t have extensive tech knowledge. It also is becoming a bit outdated in comparison to all of the new ways to share information. 2. TaskBoard - https://taskboard.matthewross.me/ The name says it all, it is a digital task board. It is free to download and use on most networks. It is a simple interface, that can be customized by the user. It would be an additional tool to keep teachers, parents or students organized, especially if they have a task-oriented personality. It displays three columns, “To Do, Doing, Done.” It is easy to use, if you are only going to be using your computer to keep track of things to be completed. Tasks can be manually entered in each of the three columns. There are many other task applications on the market that have more options than this one. This is extremely simple, and must be downloaded onto your desktop or laptop. It is not available in as an application for your phone or other devices, which makes it very inconvenient at times. It is a technology that is becoming outdated with the applications that can be used across devices. 3. FlashQards - https://www.linuxlinks.com/flashqard/ FlashQuard can be used by both teachers and students as study tool. The “cards” can be created for any subject area to prepare for quizzes and tests. They can also be used to learn vocabulary and math facts. They are much like their paper counterpart, but on the computer. This makes it easier to keep them organized and in one place. Users can customize their flashcards with different fonts and colors, as well as pictures. FlashQuard can be difficult to access, as you have to be on the device that the application is downloaded on. If you have it downloaded on your home computer, it can not be accessed from school or anywhere else. It can be more difficult to use then some of its counterparts available for other devices. It also makes it difficult for teachers to monitor student flashcards, if they are not producing them at school.